Method for making contact assembly for an electrical connector

Abstract

The invention is a three-piece contact assembly for an electrical connector. The contact assembly is characterized by an inner sleeve (10) captivated between a forward outer sleeve (20) and a rear outer sleeve (30) to eliminate deformation and relative movement between the sleeves of a contact assembly.

Having described the invention what is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of making an inner sleeve for a three-piece contact assembly said sleeve having a forward mating portion and a rearward wire receiving portion, the steps of the method comprising: providing a metal sheet with a pair of generally rectangular and longitudinally extending sheet portions, said sheet having a top and bottom surface, one and the other said sheet portions defining respectively, a pair of longitudinal edges, and said one sheet portion further including a forward lateral edge and three laterally separated slots each extending longitudinally rearward from the lateral edge whereby to define a first, second, third and fourth finger with each adjacent pair of fingers being joined by a longitudinal web portion,   laterally folding the one sheet portion so that the first and second fingers and the third and the fourth fingers are confronting,   forming the one sheet portion into a cylindrical sleeve portion wherein one respective finger of each said first and second fingers and said third and fourth fingers is disposed radially inward of said sleeve portion, and   inwardly bending the free end of each radially inward finger whereby to radially separate the free ends of the two inward fingers from the respective free ends of the two outer fingers.   
     
     
       2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the laterally folding step includes overlapping the first and the fourth fingers, respectively, over and onto the bottom surface of the sheet whereby a first web and a third web portion associated, respectively, with the first and second fingers and the third and fourth fingers define a pair of longitudinal edge surfaces. 
     
     
       3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the folding step includes working the one sheet so that the first and the fourth fingers and the second and third fingers, respectively, are concave and convex relative to the bottom surface of the sheet, and folding the concave first and fourth fingers laterally over and onto the convex second and third fingers, respectively, whereby to form a cross-section including two pairs of overlapped convex fingers which are interconnected by the intermediate of the three web portions, and   the forming step includes progressively bending the two pairs of overlapped convex fingers towards one another until the longitudinal edge surfaces adjoin at a seam.